Games you love and you don't understand why they are so unpopular

[Pony Soldier]

This just made me rummage around in a closet and find my GameCube and my copy of Timesplitters Future Perfect.
Shit is going down tonight!

Nice, that's probably my favorite of the series.

"Tiiiiiime to SPLIT!"

[Darleth]

Honestly, I never got how RE4 was considered by many the greatest in the series while 5 was outright hated. The two games are 99% the same. Play the same, enemies are mostly the same down to the burlap sack chainsaw guy and overly military final third.

Well, RE4 was the games first step into 3rd person instead of having fixed camera angles. It created a different atmosphere that people liked a lot, especially the beginning of the game sets a good tone. It has a lot of good elements. The only extreme negative I'd say was the heavily action michael bay-esque stuff the later parts had. It was a step into the right direction (besides the heavy action) for RE to go, at the same time it was also THE game that really ruined 5 and 6. 5 was a GOOD coop game, but a bad "Survival Horror" game, especially with a name like Resident Evil. 6 was just complete absurdity that tried to fully cash into the whole Gears of War-esque 3rd Person shooter genre. It probably didn't help that japanese developers really tried to appeal to western audiences and every game had to be similar to a popular western action game like CoD and other games like Gears of War etc.

On topic:

- Gothic comes to my mind, especially as a german. Gothic 1 was a great game which had its flaws, but I still play through both 1 and 2 every 2 or 3 years. The world is just unique and feels somewhat realistic. It has a lot of simple details that add so much to the world. Was mostly popular in germany, but became relatively popular in eastern europe over the years. Dont have high hopes for the "reboot" of the first game that was announced last year unfortunately, the preview was just... ugh...

- God Hand. What a absurd but fun and hard game. I wouldn't say it was "unpopular", but it got a lot of negative reviews from outlets which led to the death of its studio, which in the end pretty much became Platinum Games. A lot of people actually liked the game and over the years it definitely got a BIG cult following. Can absolutely recommend if people still have a PS2 and can find a copy, or emulate it.

- Vampire the Masquerade (both Redemption and Bloodlines). Both games have a huge cult following nowadays, especially Bloodlines. Not sure about its popularity back when it came out, I just remember the game being not that well received except by "hardcore fans". The game was unfinished and it showed. It still has a decent story, great characters and world. Also Bloodlines still has one of the best levels when it comes to horror.

- Legacy of Kain Series. Well, that whole series is just forgotten, even though it also has quite a decent following. Nosgoth probably killed any hopes of another entry in the series. Not even sure WHO has the rights nowadays.

- Dawn of War Series. Dawn of War 3 pretty much killed that franchise with terrible design choices and questionable balancing for its multiplayer. It was never a extremely big, popular series to begin with and had a rather small fanbase that kept the games alive over the past years. Still love 1 and 2, even though they are vastly different from each other.

- The Thief series. 1 and 2 are superb games with an unique style in both games. Thief 3 was a rushed game, which still has a lot of things that are great. Dont ask me about Thief 4.

[sam86]

Freedom Force


They had two games in the franchise. Why it never got that popular is beyond me. Was so replayable too and the cheesy story that pays homage to the style of the 60's/70's comic books like avengers or Justice League is masterclass, its actually very charming game. The second game left on a cliffhanger too.

Customizing your heroes powers and fighting in a Baldur's Gate type of combat. The game was so smooth they did re-release it to steam but last I heard Steam borked it. :P

if i remember right, the 2nd part was disappointing and bad, the 1st was great, so i understand why it stopped by number 2

[Orby]

if i remember right, the 2nd part was disappointing and bad, the 1st was great, so i understand why it stopped by number 2

I enjoyed the second, yea true the first one was better, but second felt a basic true sequel anyway. I wasnt sure of the reception it got back then :P

[Master Guns]

Azurik: Rise of Perathia was one of the best games I've ever played and no one's even heard of it lol. Original Xbox exclusive. Fun af.

[Cosmic Janitor]

- Gothic comes to my mind, especially as a german. Gothic 1 was a great game which had its flaws, but I still play through both 1 and 2 every 2 or 3 years. The world is just unique and feels somewhat realistic. It has a lot of simple details that add so much to the world. Was mostly popular in germany, but became relatively popular in eastern europe over the years. Dont have high hopes for the "reboot" of the first game that was announced last year unfortunately, the preview was just... ugh...

I started the series with Gothic 3 sadly and I never could get into the first two parts because of the graphics and general jank. Even worse 4 was a total joke, a linear poorly built game that didn't get the spirit of the series at all.

You reminded me about Risen though, I definitely liked the first one and I had high hopes that the series would continue in that regard, but once again the series went to total shit. The way they tried to incorporate all the pirate and voodoo stuff, it just played extremely poorly, while turning the writing to forced (and unfunny) comedy. The second one still was playable but 3 and 4 (or what ever they classified that glorified DLC asset flip), were so bad, I swore to never get another game from Pirahnia Bytes. Since that was ELEX that was probably for the best as well. It's a miracle to me how they can still exist as a studio.

[Darleth]

I started the series with Gothic 3 sadly and I never could get into the first two parts because of the graphics and general jank. Even worse 4 was a total joke, a linear poorly built game that didn't get the spirit of the series at all.

You reminded me about Risen though, I definitely liked the first one and I had high hopes that the series would continue in that regard, but once again the series went to total shit. The way they tried to incorporate all the pirate and voodoo stuff, it just played extremely poorly, while turning the writing to forced (and unfunny) comedy. The second one still was playable but 3 and 4 (or what ever they classified that glorified DLC asset flip), were so bad, I swore to never get another game from Pirahnia Bytes. Since that was ELEX that was probably for the best as well. It's a miracle to me how they can still exist as a studio.

You should try Gothic 1 and 2 with the PlayerKits installed. The PlayerKits serve as a mod-launcher for the game and a fanmade patch is also included in those. It fixes the FPS cap of 24 fps to whatever you want and generally make the game run a lot smoother on newer hardware, while also fixing some bugs. I agree though, the combat system is it's only downfall nowadays. It also sharpens the graphics a bit and there are mods that really enhance the graphics.

Risen 1 was great, Risen 2 was meh, and Risen 3 was a complete shitshow. Im not aware WHY, but my guess is Deep Silver REALLY rushed them to make those 2 games. Compare Gothic 1 and 2 release dates (with Gothic 2 having parts of the Mining Prison in it with a ton of changes for story reason) it wasn't too hard for them to release those 2 games relatively fast. Gothic 3 needed at least another year, but was also released in a rushed and unfinished state because JoWood (the Publisher) wanted them to release the game after delays. Gothic 4 (or rather ARCANIA: Gothic) wasn't made by Piranha Bytes - JoWood had the rights to the Gothic series and wanted another game in the series, but PB wanted to do something else since the story was done. Even the Expansion for Gothic 3 wasn't made by PB, but Trine Studios. At best, Forsaken Gods and Arcania were pretty much just cash grabs to save a dying publisher.

Elex was just... meh. I haven't played it and instead watched other people play it, but it seems like PB just threw a lot of stuff into the game that was "cool" back then and tried to make it work, but ultimately it didn't.

I can completely understand people not liking Gothic 1 and 2, since both are old and especially the combat didn't age well at all. I'd still say give it a try with the playerkits and fan patches.

[Ezyah]

1: Wildstar. I never understood why people did not play it just for the artstyle and humor. I know it had some bad systems, but god is there a lot of MMOs who are doing alright today, that are so much worse than Wildstar. That game deserved better and i hope the team found some people who understod how much good stuff they made.

Game was indeed nice but the fact it was divided into so many planets made a lot of small zones separated by loading screen kinda killing it s open world aspect

[Mysterymask]

- Legacy of Kain Series. Well, that whole series is just forgotten, even though it also has quite a decent following. Nosgoth probably killed any hopes of another entry in the series. Not even sure WHO has the rights nowadays.

Square Enix actually still does they got it when they bought Eidos. Big problem is Tony Jay dying and well Square not really interested in keeping it going.

[Cosmic Janitor]

I can completely understand people not liking Gothic 1 and 2, since both are old and especially the combat didn't age well at all. I'd still say give it a try with the playerkits and fan patches.

I guess it's one of these things I should do one day, especially considering the status (cult classic) the game has here in Germany.

I completely forgot about G4 being from another studio, but you are right, they even changed the name back then. I just remember being so disapointed after seeing the early reports that looked really nice. I'm not sure if more time had made Risen 2 and 3 better, I disliked them on a fundamental level, from setting over story to gameplay systems. I have to admit though, that they earned my scorn the moment they messed with magic and made it only voodoo .

[Flurryfang]

Game was indeed nice but the fact it was divided into so many planets made a lot of small zones separated by loading screen kinda killing it s open world aspect

It was a game of its time. It was very rare to find games back then, who did graphics of that level, who did not need loading screns.

WoW could do it, because of its low res style.

But i get your point. There was a lot of traveling in that game O.o

[Niwes]

Good stuff doesn’t get popular ‘cause people are stupid.

the first, the simplest and the most true answer. look at WoW....

[Aphrel]

Heroes of might and magic 3 - Its such a classic and i cant put my finger on exactly why it feels so much better and satisfying than any the later releases in the same genre. Given that it has a rather big fan following it might not fit in this thread but i thought id mention it anyway.

[Wrecktangle]

Anyone have games like that?

My game has to be C9 (Continent of the Ninth)
An instanced MMORPG with an amazing combat system that reminds me of my younger years when i used to draw stick figures fighting eachother in a piece of paper.
The combat + combo system is amazing

I actually played quite a bit of C9 back in the day. I just loved the Witchblade and all it's different iterations (especially Blade Dancer) and the PVP at the time was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the game despite it being super janky, but once BNS came westward I forgot all about it. I really wish they didn't make it so P2W/P2P because I loved that game so much.

If I had to contribute to the thread though, I loved the Kings Field series, more specifically 2. Yes they later became Demon/Dark Souls, but those games were quite charming for their time with surprisingly decent exploration, secrets, and music.

[Orby]

I am gonna add Spellforce into the conversation too.


There have been 3 games with numerous expansions to each, and the franchise has been around since 2003 and is still going, and its got a small following for sure, but for a franchise nearly 20 years old you'd think it would have some more fanfare. Yet ask someone about Spellforce the general reply would be 'whats a Spellforce' :P

Which sucks, Spellforce 3 was probably one of my favourite games of 2018 too. Can only imagine Grimlore Games and THQ Nordic need to hire better marketing :P

[beanman12345]

Heroes of might and magic 3 - Its such a classic and i cant put my finger on exactly why it feels so much better and satisfying than any the later releases in the same genre. Given that it has a rather big fan following it might not fit in this thread but i thought id mention it anyway.

Yeah, HoMM 3 was great. It really perfected the formula of the great HoMM 1 and 2, and then the series was downhill for me.

[Glorious Leader]

I fucking love dawn of war 3.

[rowaasr13]

Steam ones are Region Locked (or whatever it's called), I can't buy them on Steam. "(This item is currently unavailable in your region)"

Say thanks to stupid Mickey Mouse copyright laws. That was the easiest way to release game in English, considering that Western licenses are spread among dozens of companies, while in Asian region pretty much 90% of them belongs to Sunrise and rest belongs to companies that are fans of SRW themselves. You can get them by changing region, using VPN and several other methods. AFAIR there's also physical DVDs available, but don't quote me on that.

Tho I did play X at "my friends" place, who "managed" to get it running.
Didn't like it much. Tables, tables, tables everywhere, result tables, damage tables, tables, more tables!
It was so damn slow. You queue up attack, shit flashes and tables popup with damage!
SRWJ was the best for me. Events were fast and clear. UI was minimal and clear.

I'm not sure I understand.

Here's random video of SRW X I've just pulled from search, timestamp set to player move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGyARcnutQE&t=1082s
selects own unit -> command menu pops up
select "move" -> select tile -> post-move menu pops up
select "attack" -> select weapon -> select enemy
pre-battle stats screen pops up -> select start
optional animation that can be skipped or disabled
post-battle xp/loot screen

Here's random video of SRW J: https://youtu.be/P9tD7Bochgw?t=481
selects own unit -> command menu pops up
select "move" -> select tile -> post-move menu pops up
select "attack" -> select weapon -> select enemy
pre-battle stats screen pops up -> select start
optional animation that can be skipped or disabled
post-battle xp/loot screen

Where's the difference? Incidentally, many other tactic RPGs have pretty much the same flow.

Are you sure you didn't just look up X on youtube and got some novice player or walkthrough video? Many players in those seems to be obsessed with checking stats on every own and enemy unit every damn move, don't know about "cursor over" stat screen and second guess weapon selection several times before attack.

[Mysterymask]

OK...hear me out
I understand why this wasn't AS popular....I mean on the PSP, cutesy as fuck, and came out during Megamans....Dark ages, AND its a remake to boot!


BUT DUDE this had so many AMAZING features for a remake
-Lets you play as the Robot Masters adding to the replay value...
-A FULL level creator with a decent online community at the time hell it was comparable to Mario Maker these days.
-Relatively good difficulty curve
-A Challenge mode with a such a great reward for winning it!
-Not to mention every robot master actually had personality!

I was SO excited for a Megaman Powered Up 2..but it never happened.

[baskev]

Anyone have games like that?

My game has to be C9 (Continent of the Ninth)
An instanced MMORPG with an amazing combat system that reminds me of my younger years when i used to draw stick figures fighting eachother in a piece of paper.
The combat + combo system is amazing

I relogged and re-downloaded the game today, after many many years
Last time i played was on Wrath of the Lich king when i was on the burnout phase of WoW.

This is the game's steam charts today:

Cyberpunk 2077. Yes its not as good as they claimed it to be. Yes it has some small bugs for me ( very minor). But i am liking it and seeing a lot of potential.
one of the things it does better then other big open world games. Is that the area's with a lot of people. ( markets etc) feel real. And way more buildings are open to you then other games.

Battlefront 2 at launch. Yes you had those bad boxes. But it look, sounded and feels awsome.

Perfect dark ( or jet force geminni, concker bad fury day). People sometimes seem to hate on it. It was a great original ip on the n64. looked great for the time. had great stuff. Man that gamestudio Rare was....no IS the greatest studio in 1 generation ever. For real i do not think there is a other studio that had that many hits or so little crap title's in 1 generation of a console.